Archive for Seasonal Eating

This year we wintered over our back-yard chicken. Now I grew up on a chicken farm during the 50’s so I know a lot about chickens, however we never wintered them over. It was not economical; we purchased a new flock of baby chicks every year.

This time I watched our hen settle down into winter by first ceasing to lay eggs, then she started molting. This means she loses a lot of her feathers all at the same time. I was shocked by how many feathers she had piling up under her roost, and scattered around in her pen! Apparently it bothered me enough that I had a dream about her running out of the chicken house half naked! Well it never went that far, thankfully!

Henrietta was decidedly less lovely to look at in winter. Not only was she straggly looking with scant feathers, the pin feathers that grew in were white ‘pins’ sticking out all over her head and neck between the feathers that remained. She acted subdued and droopy during the dark days of winter – but then so do I!

Finally, as the days started to get longer, and we no longer saw anymore pin feathers sticking out white against her reddish brown feathers, she perked up! Henny started rearranging the straw in her nest and digging up places in her pen for a dust bath. Then one morning she did not race out of her house when the door was opened. She was sitting quietly on her nest in the back of the chicken house. We left her alone.

Later that morning, when she was back out in the yard, we opened up the nest box and found not one egg but three eggs! YAY! This means Spring is on the way for sure! If we had a rooster (not allowed in Denver County) she would have chicks by Easter! What a lovely surprise for a morning we had run out of eggs anyway. Since then Henny is back to laying an egg a day, and struts around her yard looking glossy, happy, and proud! Yay Henrietta! You ARE a Spring Tonic for me!

It’s that lovely season when the early Spring greens are up in abundance and are at their peak of nutritiousness. It is also the time when I start my wild edible walks and talks as the Urban Forager! This coming Saturday, April 12th, I will be opening the season with a foraging event at Denver Sustainability Park. We will focus on the Spring greens that our Grandmother’s knew were the best help in clearing the Winter ‘funk’ out of our bodies, gently and surely. These little greens will also nourish you with a super load of vitamins and minerals. So come join me for a two hour experience of learning, foraging, and asking any questions about wild edibles that you have. You can sign up for my walk or contact me for a tour of your own backyard and neighborhood! Remember, if you know your wild local edibles, you’ll never lack for food!

This is that wonderful time when the new Spring greens are coming up! These greens are the ones that help clean the Winter funk out of us, even when used in tiny amounts. Dandelions are the mainstay of these greens so far, and they are noted for gently tuning up and toning up the kidneys, liver, and intestines as well as giving us a wonderful helping of the bitter that prompts our gall bladder to release bile into the digestive tract. This is the reason so many Europeans have bitters or a bitter green in a salad before a meal! It gets all those juices flowing so digestion is enhanced. You don’t need much for this…just a leaf or two. This was the Spring tonic used for centuries as tea, salad, greens, and simply picked and eaten. Try it! I think your body will like it!

Add this to your Spring salad

Maybe you didn’t know that I am also the Urban Forager (urbanforager.co) here in Denver. So this is also the season when I start taking people on Wild Edible walks around urban neighborhoods. I have included a link to the first walk of the season, and there are limited spaces available so I suggest you sign up early to reserve your space. You can also book your own Wild Edible walk with me! See you soon for Spring Greens!